The present invention relates to a packaging combination for accommodating and dispensing a viscous or granular filling material according to claim 1. The present invention further relates to dispensing system according to claim 15 for being attached to a tightly filled tubular casing.
In particular, the present invention relates to a packaging combination for accommodating and dispensing a viscous or granular filling material. The packaging combination comprises a tubular casing having a first end, a second end and a central Axis extending through first end second ends, wherein the tubular casing is tightly filled with filling material and closed at its first and second end by a closure means, like a closure clip. The packaging combination comprises a dispensing device having a passageway extending through the dispensing device with an inlet opening at its one end and an outlet opening at its other end for guiding and dispensing the filling material in a dispensing direction, and being attached to the first end of the tightly filled tubular casing. The first end of the tubular casing extends into the passageway of the dispensing device. The dispensing device further comprises a dispensing cap having an attachment end and a dispensing end, which is reversibly attachable to the outlet opening of the dispensing device, by its attachment end.
In practice, packaging combinations are known, which comprise a tubular casing filled with filling material and closed at its ends by closure means, and a dispensing device. The tubular casings of said packaging combinations are filled with various pasty filling materials, e.g. food stuff, like sausage meat, or adhesives, like silicone, etc.
From EP patent application 1 988 032, a tubular or sausage-shaped packaging is known, being filled with sausage meat. The sausage-shaped product is produced by closing a tubular casing at one end, filling the sausage meat into said tubular casing and closing the filled tubular casing at its respective other end. In order to allow an easier opening of the sausage-shaped product, perforation lines including a number of weak locations are provided on the casing, along which the casing may be opened by pulling-off the casing material and dispensing the sausage meat.
In US patent application 2008/0274313, a sausage-shaped product similar to that of EP patent application 1 988 032 is disclosed. In order to allow an easier opening of the casing material, a handle in form of a tear stripe is attached to the casing, in particular between the two overlapping longitudinal edges of the casing material. Two material weakenings are provided at both sides of the tear stripe facilitating the opening of the casing.
Moreover, German laid open document 38 31 225 discloses a device for dispensing the filling material, like an adhesive, stored in a tubular or bag-shaped packaging. The device includes a rigid tube having a dispensing nozzle at its one end. For the use of the filling material, the bag-shaped packaging has to be opened at one end and has then to be positioned in said rigid tube with its opened end facing the dispensing nozzle. A piston matching the inner diameter of the tube is pushed into the tube, thereby squeezing the bag-shaped packaging and dispensing the filling material through the dispensing nozzle.
With this known packaging combination, it is of disadvantage that the rigid tube has outer circumferential dimensions being such that the complete bag-shaped packaging can be accommodated in said rigid tube. If this known packaging combination is provided as a disposable device, this solution is expensive due to the big rigid tube being made from relatively expensive plastics. If this known packaging combination used such that only the bag-shaped packaging is thrown away and the rigid tube is used several times, the bag-shaped packaging must be opened outside the tube so that, when the opened bag-shaped packaging is introduced in the rigid tube, filling material can accidently discharged and can pollute the environment.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging combination, with which the above mentioned drawbacks have been overcome, and, in particular, which allows an easy and save opening of the tubular casing as well as an easy and save dispensing of the filling material.